2 Corinthians 10:5
I’m not saying these 3 signs are a guarantee you are about to meet someone who you will date. Obviously we cannot know the future. But it is also true that before God allows you into a new season, he often first prepares you for that season.
So here are 3 signs God is preparing your mind to meet someone who you will start dating.
1. If God Is Teaching You Not to Instantly Think, “Is This The One?” Every Time You Meet Someone New, This Is Actually a Good Sign He May Be Preparing You for Dating Someone
So much goes on beneath the service that other people cannot know is happening inside of us. We are experts at showing the world one face while internally thinking and feeling completely different. One common example of this is when Christian singles meet another Christian single person for the first time. Despite playing it cool on the outside, the thought that instantly pops into many minds is, “Is this person my future spouse?”
This thought is then preceded by forming a plan on how to gather the necessary basic information one needs to know before considering dating someone, “Are they dating anyone? How old are they? Are we in the same league when it comes to physical appearance? Are they a Christian?”
I’m not saying it is right or wrong to have these types of thoughts when you first meet someone. I will say, however, that you will feel much better and act much more normal if you learn to avoid these types of thoughts when you first meet someone new. When you jump ahead so far into the future, it causes you to act strange and awkward in the present, which then works against you forming a genuine connection with someone. I love the phrase Paul used in 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV), “. . . we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
It’s much more enjoyable and effective to learn to control these types of thoughts and to view each new person through a lens of friendship and kindness rather than through a lens of dating and romance. If you just act normal and you are kind, the potential to form a good connection with someone that could lead to dating is much higher.
If you want to know how to control your thoughts more and how to stop wondering if every new person you meet is the one God will have you marry, you may want to read my article, How to Stop Wondering If Every New Christian Single Person You Meet Is Your Future Spouse.
2. If God Is Showing You How to Not Act on Unreasonable Relationship Doubts that Pop Up in Your Mind, This Is a Good Sign He May Be Preparing You for Dating Someone
Relationships cause people to act very odd sometimes. In fact, even the potential for a relationship can make people act very strange. One reason people often have big swings in their behavior when it comes to interacting with someone they like is because they have not learned to manage the doubts that always pop up in their minds.
When you first meet someone and start talking to them in a way where it seems there could be a potential romantic spark between you two, doubts will inevitably start flooding in on the heals of the hope that first came, “I thought they seemed interested last time we talked, but now I’m not so sure. I think I misread them. I’m going to back away now. I’m such an idiot.”
These types of thoughts always come, but you don’t always have to listen to them or obey them. As Romans 13:14 (NIV) states, “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” You can choose to think more rationale rather than succumb to unreasonable relationship doubts that intrusively come into your mind uninvited.
Notice I am saying “unreasonable” relationship doubts. Our thoughts can also betray us when we choose to be unrealistically optimistic despite obvious signs this relationship is not meant to be. So I’m not saying you should always assume what you want to happen is what is happening. Those types of thought will also lead you astray.
I’m just saying that if you never learn to ignore your irrational fears about someone rejecting you when they have done nothing but show you that they are actually interested in you, then you will never have the courage to take the next step in a relationship with someone. We have to learn to use our minds to assess the actual facts, good or bad, rather than allowing our minds to control us despite the facts.
3. If God Is Showing You How to Keep Him First in Your Thoughts Rather Than Allowing Your Mind to Be Consumed By Someone Else, This is a Good Sign He Is Preparing You for a Relationship
You worship whatever is at the forefront of your mind. Whatever you think about the most is what you worship. This is why throughout the Bible there is such a big emphasis on keeping our thoughts God-focused rather than self-focused or earthly-focused. Notices what Colossians 3:1-3 states:
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
This does not mean you never have thoughts about anything other than Christ. It does mean, however, that when we think about things like relationships or the possibility of dating someone, we do so with a Christ-centered mind. We must not let anything, including a relationship, take control of our minds because then we will lose control of our lives.
If you want God to lead and direct your life and relationships, it starts by letting God lead and direct your mind.